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31st December
2013 – I had another walk this afternoon when the morning rain had
stopped around the Nagshead area.On three occasions, a flock of Common
Crossbills overflew and on one occasion I was able to see them, the other two
times I only heard them.Generally
in the late afternoon it was quiet in the woodlands but at Cannop,
I heard but did not see the Tawny Owl in the same area as yesterday.

30th December
2013 – I had a short tour of the Forest this afternoon.In the large Lime Trees near the
Memorial Hall in Parkend was a very
‘bulky’ bird.I stopped
the car and put the binoculars on it.It was a Hawfinch.Later
while I was walking the Gloucestershire Way, 2 Fallow Deer ran across my path
as the light was failing.Shortly
afterwards, a Tawny Owl was seen perched in a tree near the car park alongside
the road between the two ponds at Cannop.

29th December
2013 – A very icy morning after overnight rain had frozen when the skies
cleared before dawn.

28th December
2013 – I had another walk over Crabtree Hill and up as far as Serridge Ridge.It was a fine but cold day and unusually it was very quiet.No birds of note were seen, not even a
small flock of Common Crossbills which is very unusual.A single female Fallow Deer meandered
across Crabtree Hill at dusk and by the time I had got back to the car it was
nearly freezing and quite dark.Thus, no Shike, Chaffinch flock, Bramblings,
Common Crossbills or Two Barred Crossbills were noted today.

27th December
2013 – I did the same walk as yesterday but by the time that I had got to
Crabtree Hill, driving rain was sweeping across the heath and like yesterday I
did not find the Shrike.A small
flock of Common Crossbills flew across Serridge Ridge
and the same or another flock flew over the western end of the lower
track.Although the rain had
stopped en route to Serridge Ridge, by the time I got
back to Crabtree Hill it had started again and it continued to be driven by a stong wind, thus my second attempt of the day to find the
Shrike was thwarted.A flock of
about 20 Siskin flew over the scrapes at the southern end of the hill late
on.

26th December
2013 – A small flock of Common Crossbills flew over near Woorgreens car park at 1110. A few Chaffinch and Siskin
were near the Hemlock Spruce trees near Kensley
Lodge. I continued on to Serridge Ridge and down to Brierley and back along the lower track and retraced to Woorgreens car park.It was a very quiet day although it was cold and sunny.

25th December
2013 - |It was another bright and sunny day if a little cool.The temperature at 1010 was only 4 deg.
C.I walked the tarmac road at
Crabtree Hill and found a single male Two Barred Crossbill in a pine tree at
1245 at the southern end of this path.Probably the same bird was there at 1315 when I returned albeit in a
different tree.

24th December
2013 – It was a sunny day with a light breeze.A Hawfinch was on the top of a tree near
Kensley Lodge at 1310.I walked up Crabtree Hill and the Great
Grey Shrike was there but quite mobile at 1335 and was still there at 1515 when
I returned.3 Fallow Deer crossed
the tarmac track near Drybrook Road Station and on
the top of Serridge Ridge there were only a few
Chaffinch and a few Common Crossbills flew over.

23rd December
2013 – Approximately 26mm of rain fell today and a bit of flooding as a
consequence.

22nd December
2013 – I found the Great Grey Shrike perched in a tree along the centre
path over Crabtree Hill.On Serridge Ridge there was the largest flock of Chaffinch
that I have seen this winter, numbering about 100 birds.There were a few Brambling
with them. A few Common Crossbills overflew the larch plantation on top of the
ridge and when I was back at Drybrook Road Station, I
found a Two Barred Crossbills with a few Common Crossbills.A dead deer was nearby.

21st December
2013 – I walked up to the Information Centre at RSPB Nagshead
from the Stoneworks at Cannop.Along the Gloucestershire Way, there was
a mixed flock of birds including small numbers of Siskins and of Redwings.Common Crossbills overflew in three
places, the Meadow area near the Centre, when I was along the short trail and
finally when I had returned to the Bixslade
tramway.

20th December
2013 – I walked over Serridge Ridge again today
and in several places on the northern slopes and in the valley below were a
number of small flocks of Chaffinch with one or two Brambling in amongst
them.A small flock of Common
Crossbills overflew when I was down on the eastern end of the lower track.There was no sign of the Two Barred
Crossbills.

19th December
2013 – I walked over Serridge Ridge and found a
small flock of Common Crossbills overflying or possibly several small flocks
were in the area.There were a
flock of approximately 50 Chaffinch with at least 4 Brambling on the northen side of the ridge in the beech trees and feeding on
the ground on the beech mast which appears to be plentiful this year.

17th December
2013 – I had another walk up Crabtree Hill today but it was generally
quiet and I went on to Serridge Ridge where I found a
flock of Common Crossbills which overflew three times.On my way back to Crabtree Hill I found
a Wild Boar which crossed the tarmac track behind me.On Crabtree Hill, the Great Grey Shrike
was present.I noted it fly into a
Hawthorn bush and, upon further investigation I found the remains of a Blue Tit
impaled on a Hawthorn bush.Wild
Boar could be heard grunting nearby.On the open area to the north of Woorgreens
Lake, a Fallow Deer buck appeared in the long grass and there appeared to be
three females with him.Finally,
two Goosanders were on Woorgreens Lake at dusk.

16th December
2013 – I had an afternoon visit to WWT Slimbridge.There were some Bewick’s
Swans in a field near the road running into the Slimbridge
reserve. On the Tack Piece, there was a huge flock of Golden Plover with some
Lapwings and Dunlin.From the
Holden Tower, more Bewick’s Swans could be seen
on the river and 4 Common Cranes were on the Dumbles.There is
certainly plenty of birds on the Slimbridge reserve
at the moment.

15th December
2013 – I had a walk up Crabtree Hill and on to Serridge
Ridge but the weather closed in quickly and rain started to fall and the wind
picked up.However, I still managed
to find a flock ofCommon Crossbills around the ridge.Otherwise, it was a quiet day in poor
conditions.

14th December
2013 – I had a walk at RSPB Nagshead this
morning.Around the meadow area
there was quite a number of Blackbirds which was of note.Along the long trail, a steady stream of
winter thrushes moved through the larch plantation.Some of these birds were Redwings.Further along this trail there was a
sizable Chaffinch flock feeding out of sight over the slope of the ground
opposite the cave.They kept coming
up to perch in the trees.Most of
these birds were male.

13th December
2013 – A Bullfinch was in my garden this morning which was an unusual
occurrence.

12th December
2013 – I checked Walmore Common just before
lunchtime for any swans but there was none of any of the three species.

After some
business in Chepstow, I crossed the Severn Bridge to try to see the reported
Desert Wheatear at Severn Beach.When I arrived it was on show near the ramp off the one way system.It moved around the grass area, the
concrete path, the concrete sea defence wall and on the beach itself.Often it would come really close and
gave very good views.It was a male
with a golden brown cap and a thick buff supercilium.The black ‘face’ was tinged
with white feather tips and the underparts were light
buff with a fully black tail which was constantly ‘pumped’. It
seemed to be an all action bird and was feeding most of the time.Sometimes it made short flights but
generally it ran around the flat areas and fed.It was very beautiful bird to have the
chance to see.

11th December
2013 – At Serridge Ridge at lunchtime, there
was a small flock of Common Crossbills in the larch plantation.As they flew, I heard the call of a
Two-barred Crossbill which was with them but not seen.At Woorgreens
Lake at 1600 there were only 15 Coot but 7 Goosander of which 4 were male.

10th December
2013 – There were several small Chaffinch flocks along the shale track
behind the Information Centre at RSPB Nagshead.Down in the meadow there was a single
Hawfinch on the top of one of the trees on the southern boundary.

I moved on to
Crabtree Hill and when I was walking back along the main track on the south
side, I accidentally flushed an owl from an ivy covered tree.I only saw it momentarily as it
disappeared into the trees but I believe that it was a Tawny Owl.22 Coot were on Woorgreens
Lake at dusk.

9th December
2013 – At RSPB Nagshead around lunchtime, there
were some Siskins and a Bullfinch in the meadow area.Along the short trail there were some
Redwings.

8th December
2013 – There was a Siskin flock with Chaffinches in the Hemlock Spruce
trees on the main track from Kensley Lodge to
Crabtree Hill.On SerridgeRidg, there was a small
flock of Chaffinch feeding on Holly berries on the north side of the
ridge.I walked down past Trafalgar
House and along the path on the south side of the ridge where a small flock of
Common Crossbills overflew.I
flushed three Fallow Deer along the tarmac path back to Crabtree Hill where
there was a small Siskin flock on the south side near Woorgreens
Lake where there were 20 Coot at dusk.

7th December
2013 – Approximately 20 Common Crossbills on the ridge at Serridge and there was a Chaffinch flock feeding on the
beech mast.21 Coot and a pair of
Goosander were on Woorgreens Lake at dusk.

6th December
2013 – This afternoon on Serridge Ridge, there
was a flock of Siskins with some Chaffinch and Goldfinch with them.On the north side of the ridge in the
beech wood, there was a nice flock of Chaffinch and a few Brambling
with them feeding on the mast.22
Coot were onWoorgreens Lake at dusk.

5th December
2013 – A windy and generally overcast day.I had another walk in the Crabtree Hill
area but again did not find the Shrike but as yesterday there were a few
Redpolls at the southern end of the open area.Conditions were not good in the open as
the wind was quite strong so I walked through the woods to Woorgreens
Lake where I found 22 Coot but again as yesterday there were no other water
birds present.

4th December
2013 – At Nagshead RSPB today, there were several
Bullfinch in The Meadows area and along the Gloucestershire Way as I walked
back to the Stoneworks, I found a beautiful dark,
buck Fallow Deer with magnificent antlers.He had one doe with him and they eventually moved away.

I checked
Russell’s Inclosure for the reported Shrike but
did not find one.

At Crabtree
Hill, I looked again for a Shrike but again I failed to find.There was a small flock of Redpolls at
the southern end and as it got dark, a Red Fox with a brilliant white tail tip
appeared momentarily on the track.It was an animal in top condition. 19 Coot were on Woorgreens
Lake but otherwise this water was quiet.

3rd December
2013 – On an overcast and dull day, I went to WWT Slimbridge
and managed to photograph some Bewick’s Swan
bill patterns.I also wanted to do
some flock counts but initially had difficulty in finding the majority of
them.I checked The Moors and
surrounding fields to the south east of Slimbridge
but found no swans.I had seen some
at lunchtime flying to the north east and thought that they might be going to
The Hurns fields.After lunch I set off to walk up the
canal to Cambridge Arms Bridge to look for them.I found them early on in a field away
from the road and also away from the canal towpath.This field was surrounded by hedges and
it was not possible to do an accurate count but a substantial number of birds
were there.

2nd December
2013 – I had an afternoon walk through Nagshead
plantation again and then checked the open areas across the road for any sign
of the Shike but again there was nothing to be
seen.A Dipper in the steam by the Stoneworks was the highlight and there was again 12 Tufted
Duck on the pond at Cannop.

1st December
2013 – I walked up through Nagshead plantation
and found in the flat calm conditions that there were plenty of midges about
while I was sat in the woodland eating lunch. An interesting observation for
December!Another one was of a Grey
Squirrel with a beer can!It
appeared to be trying to open it and was making progress with its teeth before
it moved off out of sight taking the can with it.I walked across to Russell’s Inclosure and Farmers Green to check to see if the Shrike
was there but again I drew a blank.

30th November
2013 – I went again to Woorgreens on a sunny
but cold day.At the Hemlock Spruce
trees there were only a few Siskins and also a few Chaffinches.I walked up the tarmac road and then to
Foxes Bridge colliery.It was very
quiet on the heath and in the woods to the north east.When I returned to the heath, I found a
ringed Redpoll.Other than that it
was quiet.It was also quiet on Woorgreens Lake with only 13 Coot.In summary, there were no Crossbills to
be seen today and the Shrike was also absent.

29th November
2013 – Today was breezy but with some sunny intervals and very occasional
light drizzle.In the Hemlock
Spruce trees at Woorgreens there were still some
Siskins but the flock appears to have dropped to around 50 birds.On the heath it was very quiet in the
increasing breeze and it was generally quiet and there was no sign of the
Shrike.

At Cannop Ponds, the Tufted Duck numbers were up to 23 and at
Russell’s Inclosure there was no sign of the
Shrike.

28th November
2013 – It was an overcast but mild day.I had some business in the Cotswold
Water Park West and I took the opportunity to look over a couple of the
lakes.On Pit 57, there were at
least 2 Goldeneye.However, the
viewing opportunities from the public footpath at Lower Moor is now almost gone
as the vegetation has grown up quite a lot over the years.On the opposite side of the drive there
were at least 2 Goosander and at Neighbridgelake there were another 3 Goosander including 2 males.

27th November
2013 – I walked up through Nagshead Reserve
this morning but it was generally quiet in the woods.There were 12 Tufted Duck on the
southern pond at Cannop which is a good number for
this pond.I checked Farmers Green
for any sign of a Great Grey Shrike which had been reported in the area but
there was no sign.

I moved over
to Woorgreens where there was a pair of Common
Crossbills in the Hemlock Spruce trees near the dragonfly pond at Kensley Lodge.Again I could not find any sign of a Shrike on the open heath of
Crabtree Hill.

26th November
2013 – On another cold day with the temperature not much above freezing,
I made another visit to the Woorgreens area.I could not find any Two-barred
Crossbills or the Shrike before lunch.The Siskin flock which was around the Western Hemlock trees near Kensley Lodge was quite small today.After lunch I found a single, dark and
young male Fallow Deer with single point antlers near here and on the heath,
along the tarmac road I found initially 6 Two-barred Crossbills, these being 4
male and 2 female.They moved to
another tree and the numbers became 5 male and 3 female and then when they flew
there were 9 birds.One of the
females was streaked on the underside suggesting a first winter bird.This was at 1445. A few minutes later furtherup the
heath, I found the Great Grey Shrike at 1505.

25th November
2013 – I made a visit to WWT Slimbridge on an
overcast day which gradually became brighter.I found a flock of 41(2) Bewick’s Swans in a roadside/canalside
field on the approach to Slimbridge Centre and 7(2)
flew over and appeared to descend and land in the area of The Moors.A further 3(1) were on the Dumbles where there were a good number of White-fronted
Geese and a Common Crane. The roadside fields have some standing water and
there were Lapwing and Dunlin present in these fields.On the Tack Piece there was a good flock
of Lapwing and Golden Plover with some Dunlin with them.Another Common Crane was there for a
short while before departing to the north.The day was rounded off in obtaining some more bill pattern photographs.

24th November
2013 – It was a cold day with the temperature at 0900 only 2 deg. C.I went to Woorgreens
again and found some Common Crossbills in the Western Hemlock trees not far
from Kensley Lodge.The Siskin flock in that area only seemed
to hold about 30 birds with 3 Chaffinch also present.I walked the heath and found the Great
Grey Shrike in the tree belt to the north of the open area.Woorgreens
Lake was 50 per cent covered in ice but there were still 10 Coot and 1 Little
Grebe there.

At Nagshead there were some mixed tit flocks roaming the area
and a Redwing was bathing in one of the runnels along the short trail.A flock of Crossbills could be heard
calling over the outward short trail. A Grey Squirrel was an unusual find along
the Gloucestershire Way.I have not
seen one for a number of weeks in this area.Finally, there were more Crossbills
calling from the Larch plantation to the west of the Cannop
Road near the Stoneworks.

23rd November
2013 – It was a colder day than yesterday but with no wind and wall to
wall sunshine.I went to Woorgreens in the morning this time but again I failed to
find any Crossbills and the Shrike again proved elusive to me although both had
been reported as being present today.

At Woogreens Lake there were at least 21 Coot, a Little Grebe
and a pair of Mute Swans.

22nd November
2013 – It was a bright, sunny and very cold day.I went to Woorgreens
again in the afternoon but could not find either the Two-barred Crossbills or
the Great Grey Shrike.I noted some
feeding behaviour with 3 Common Crossbills (See the Identification and Other
Notes page).

21st November
2013 – At Woorgreens this afternoon, I had
better views of one of two Two-barrd Crossbills which
were lit up by the brilliant sunshine.The call of this species is like a child’s toy trumpet and very
different to that of the Common Crossbill, two of which had been in the same
tree earlier.There were also about
50 Siskins present and some Chaffinch.I could not locate the Great Grey Shrike.

20th November
2013 – I made another trip in the afternoon as before to Woorgreens and this time I managed to find one Two-barred
Crossbill with three other birds in the same group which may well have been of
that species too.I walked up to
the Heath near Crabtree Hill and found the Great Grey Shrike as well.It was a profitable afternoon.

19th November
2013 – I went again to Woorgreens with the same
aim as yesterday but again failed to find the target birds.There were, however, in excess of 100
Siskins with a few Redpoll and some Common
Crossbills.

18th November
2013 – I went to Woorgreens in the Forest of
Dean to look for the reported Two-barred Crossbills and Great Grey Shrike but
found neither on a damp and dull day.The highlight of the afternoon was a single Hawfinch.The skies cleared and the rain stopped
at 1530 and a glorious golden afternoon ensued among the autumnal trees in the
forest.

14th November
2013 – This morning at home in Longhope there
was a very late Red Admiral butterfly passing through my garden.I went down again to WWT Slimbridge in the afternoon which was in sun but with a
cool breeze.No Bewick’s
Swans were on the Rushy Pen when I arrived but 3(0)
flew from the Tack Piece and eventually landed on Rushy
Pen after several circuits and attempts.The strong breeze made the approach and landing more difficult than
usual.I moved on to the Halfway
Hide where there was a single Common Crane with colour rings Red/Blue/White
reading up the leg.There were a
good number of birds here too including a large number of Curlew, Lapwing and
Dunlin.There were also
Black-tailed Godwits and a single Snipe and Golden Plover.There were 8 Redwings in the hedge
feeding on berries at the Knot Hide.On the Rushy Pen at the feed there was a Ruddy
Shelduck type bird which was fully winged but did not
fly at the start of the feed.The
maximum number of Bewick’s Swans noted today
was 11(1).The Purple Sandpiper was
also present on Rushy Pen.Later at 1625 2 Glossy Ibis arrived on
South Lake.

13th November
2013 – I went down to WWT Slimbridge on a sunny
day which gradually clouded over.From the Holden Tower at 1450 there were 7(0) Bewick’s
Swans on the Dumbles but they left at 1505.There were 23 White-fronted Geese there
too and a Cetti’s Warbler nearby.At 1530 there were 2(0) Bewick’s Swans on the Tack Piece where there had been
none earlier in the afternoon.At
South Lake at 1605, a lone Bewick’s Swan flew
over from the south and in the dark at 1700 there were 10(1) Bewick’s Swan on the Rushy
Pen.

12th November
2013 – Today was bright and sunny with a cool breeze.I went to Slimbridge
where there were 5 Bewick’s Swans at the
afternoon feed.The reported Purple
Sandpiper was still on the Rushy Pen and from the
Holden Tower, there were at least 18 White-fronted
Geese, a Peregrine and a Brent Goose on the Dumbles.At dusk, 2 Glossy Ibis came to roost on
South Lake again at 1640.

7th November
2013 – While making a very short visit to RSPB Nagshead,
I came across a small party of Crossbills around the tall trees near the meadow
not far from the Inforamtion Centre.

5th November
2013 – I made another trip to WWT Slimbridge
and the birds present were similar to yesterday, however, at dusk I found 2 Glossy
Ibis on South Lake after being tipped off that they had flown in that direction
after circling the Rushy Pen.

4th November
2013 – I went to WWT Slimbridge in the
afternoon.A Black-headed Gull with
white darvic ‘2P37’ was on the Rushy Pen.A
Siberian Chiffchaff was in the Rain Garden behind the container with glass
windows.It showed well in the
sunshine on several occasions and seemed to return to the hedgerow quite often.It is a very light coloured bird on the underparts and the upperparts
have a tiny tinge of yellow about it.It was a very clean looking bird.There were 6 Bewick’s Swans on the Rushy Pen for the afternoon feed.

1st November
2013 – On an overcast day with intermittent drizzle I had a short walk
around RSPB Nagshead.It was quiet in the woodlands but a
Redwing was of note in the Meadow where there is a small exhibition of natural
history sculptures.

31st October
2013 – Another dull and overcast day and another visit was made to WWT Slimbridge.Again, I was looking for Bewick’s Swans
and again as the afternoon wore on there were none to be seen.From the Holden Tower, there were 8
Common Crane and 20 White-fronted Geese. A Chiffchaff was at the Willow Hide.Just before I was about to depart I was
looking for Snipe from the Martin Smith hide when I heard Bewick’s
Swans calling.The collection birds
have been very vocal of late but this sound appeared to be coming from up in
the air somewhere.Indeed, 6 adults
came over the hide from the south and appeared to land over the hedge on the Dumbles.I made
my way to Rushy Pen to see the feed and was surprised
to see 6 Bewick’s Swans feeding there.They could not have got from the Dumbles to land in the Rushy and
then swim into the bay to be feeding in less than a minute and I suspected
there were two different flock of 6.This proved to be the case as in a short
while, 6 came overhead with the 6 on the Pen still feeding thus at least 12
were on site today.At the
beginning of the afternoon grain feed, only 2 swans were present as 4 flew and
the second 6 did not land.

30th October
2013 – I made another visit to WWT Slimbridge.It was another cooler day with the
temperature at 1100 only 10 deg. C.I was looking for Bewick’s Swans to
monitor but found none initially.On the Dumbles there were 18(3) White-fronted
Geese and 1 Peregrine.On the Rushy Pen in the late afternoon, there was a Black-headed
Gull with a white darvic ‘21J5’ which I
have seen and reported before.There was also another one with a metal Lithuanian ring but I could not
read all of the characters.At the
feed, 6 Bewick’s Swans turned up and 5
landed.Finally, in the car park as
I was leaving a Cetti’s Warbler burst into
song.

28th October
2013 – It was an overcast and cool day with the temperature at 1200 only
11 deg. C.I called in at Ashleworth and noted that the Ham in front of the hide is
nicely flooded and that there is some standing water on Hasfield
Ham in the distance.There were 120
Mallard, 25 Wigeon, 18 Canada Geese, 2(1) Mute Swan,
14 Teal and 2 Shoveler.There was a hirundine
very high and distant.I think that
it was a Swallow but in any event it is a late date for this.7 Black-headed Gulls moved south and
also in that direction were some Starlings with Fieldfares which momentarily
perched in one of the bare branched trees.

I went on to
WWT Slimbridge where, from the Zeiss Hide, there were
25 Black-tailed Godwits.On South
Lake there were a bigger number of Herring Gulls than usual with 26 individuals
there. Other gulls included a small flock of Black-headed Gulls with 5 Common
Gull alongside them. 2 Bewick’s Swans landed in
the Big Pen for a short while before relocating to the Rushy
Pen.From the Holden Tower, 7
White-fronted Geese were near the Barnacle Goose flock which numbered 135
birds.

27th October
2013 – I went to WWT Slimbridge after receiving
a report that the first of the winter visiting Bewick’s
Swans had arrived.I got there at
lunchtime and went to the Holden Tower where I could just view the swans
through some vegetation on the Long Ground Pool.At 1445, they flew onto the Rushy Pen and I was able to photograph the bill patterns of
the 5 adults and the yearling.It
was pleasing to see that there was also a cygnet present and that the Bewick’s Swan family and another pair were dominant
over the resident Mute Swan female and her cygnet.It was a very blustery day with a lot of
heavy rain showers.

25th October
2013 – Another visit to WWT Slimbridge and my
first port of call was the Zeiss Hide after checking on Rushy
Pen that no Bewick’s Swans were there.At the Zeiss Hide, there were 8 Common
Cranes on the Dumbles with two more joining
them.One of the latter was the one
which flies with the dangling leg.Of the ones on the ground, only the following rings could be read in the
long vegetation – Reading up the leg, White/Blue/Red, Red/Yellow/Black
and Red/Green/Red.On South Lake
there was an adult Herring Gull with a red/orange darvic
with the code ‘WJ4.T’.This information has been emailed to the ringer.From the Holden Tower, the 10 Common
Cranes were still on the Dumbles along with 2
Buzzards, at least 12 White-fronted Geese and a Peregrine on what may have been
a kill.The geese were well
dispersed and in long vegetation and there may have been more than 12. Also of note was a Cetti’s
Warbler which was singing. On the Rushy Pen there
were two Black-headed Gulls with white darvics,
‘2P33’ and ‘21J5’.

24th October
2013 – A few winter thrushes passing over Westonbirt
Arboretum this morning and a Chaffinch flock was of note.

23rd October
2013 – It was a day of sunshine and showers which gradually gave way to a
breezy but dry and sunny afternoon.I went to Ashleworth before lunch and found
the scrapes to be full of water which is not surprising because of the amount
of rain in the past few days.There
were 155 Mallard, 30 Teal, 15 Wigeon, 2 Canada Geese,
4 Greylag Geese, 1 Pintail and 2 Mute Swans including a cygnet.There has been a lot of scrub clearance
in the copse near the hide.

At WWT Slimbridge, I moved to the Zeiss Hide first.There were a number of duck, mostly Teal
but many birds were tucked away in the vegetation, sheltering from the brisk
wind.There were 8 Common Crane
including the unringed young bird.All the others were from the
reintroduction scheme.The ring
combinations were as follows, reading up the leg – White/Blue/Red,
Red/Green/Red, Red/White/Red, Red/Blue/White, White/Blue/Yellow, Red/Green/Blue
and Red/Yellow/Black. Also there was a Spotted Redshank and some Black-tailed
Godwits.Later in the afternoon at
the Holden Tower there was a Wheatear again on the scrape edge with 2 Skylark
and 10(2) White-fronted Geese.

22nd October
2013 – Although there was heavy rain this morning, it cleared to showers
and some sunshine in the afternoon.I went to WWT Slimbridge again.The hybrid Pochard
was still on the Rushy Pen.From the Zeiss Hide, Spotted Redshank,
Redshank, Greenshank, Lapwing and Golden Plover were the waders present as well
as many Teal.A Peregrine, quite
large, probably a female was perched on a fence post on the Dumbles.From the Holden Tower later, a good
sized flock of Lapwing, Golden Plover and Dunlin was on the edge of the Dumbles where there were also many Curlew
present.Many of the latter were
sheltering from the blustery southerly wind blowing up the estuary.I could only see 9 White-fronted Geese
because they were a long way away and in long vegetation but I expect that all
15 or more were there.At lunchtime
a small flock of winter thrushes passed through to the south and all afternoon,
small flocks of Starlings were also heading in that direction.This has not been apparent in the last
few days and seems to be a feature of today.

20th October
2013 – I spent an hour or so in the Holden Tower at WWT Slimbridge.There had been a report of 7 Bewick’s
Swans down the river near the Severn Bridges.I thought that they might come up river
to roost at Slimbridge but this turned out not to be
the case.However, the highlight of
the afternoon was that of a Hen Harrier which flew out of the vegetation on the
Spartinaisland and
gradually flew down river before being lost to view near the sluice gate to the
south of the Dumbles.This bird seemed to be quite large and
broad winged but the most noticeable features were large almost white patches
on the upper wings.There were 15
White-fronted Geese present on the Dumbles today and
finally there was a hybrid male Pochard on the Rushy Pen which may have Pochard
and Ferruginous Duck parentage.

15th October
2013 – A white butterfly was on the wing near my garden this morning
which was a good mid-October record.

I went to Slimbridge later in the morning.From the Zeiss Hide, a Cetti’s Warbler was singing often.A Common Crane was present and a Little
Grebe disappeared into the reed bed.Waders present included, Redshank, Lapwing, Ruff, Golden Plover and
Greenshank.On South Lake, there
was the usual large flock of Black-headed Gulls with a single Lesser
Black-backed Gull and a few Herring Gulls.Passerines in the hedgerow from the Knott Hide included several
Goldfinch and Chaffinch.From the
Holden Tower, I noted 8 White-fronted Geese.Returning to the Halfway Hide, 7 Common
Cranes flew over.Also of note for
mid-October was the sight of a Hawker dragonfly on the wing at the Zeiss Hide.

14th October
2013 – In a short afternoon visit to WWT Slimbridge
on a day of heavy showers, I noted a Spotted Redshank and an unringed Common Crane from the Zeiss Hide.Around the South Finger area there were
at least 2 different very vocal Cetti’s
Warblers.On South Lake, there was
again a large flock of Black-headed Gulls with a single Common Gull with
them.On Rushy
Pen there was at least 2 Pochard and with more of
this species at South Finger and a number of Pintail showing it is a sure sign
of winter around the corner.

12th October
2013 – I made another visit to WWT Slimbridge
today.From the Zeiss Hide there
were Little Grebe, 4 Common Crane, Snipe, 2 Greenshank and a very vocal Cetti’s Warbler.2 Ruff, 10 Redshank and a small flock of Black-tailed Godwits and
Lapwing were also on the scrape.On
South Lake, there was quite a large flock of Black-headed Gulls but I could not
find any other species of small gull with them.A Snipe was present as was another small
flock of Black-tailed Godwits.On Rushy Pen, it was unusual to see a number of Wigeon.From
the Holden Tower, I noted a dark bellied Brent Goose on the estuary mud.It appeared to be injured with its right
wing dragging.Finally, a Water
Rail put in a brief appearance from the Martin Smith hide.

11th October
2013 – This morning at home, I was scanning the sky when I noted a few
House Martins high in the air.While watching them, a flock of winter thrushes flew through my
binocular view.The latter species
were noted many times during the day and suggested quite a big movement of
these migrants through Gloucestershire today.

In a short visit to WWT Slimbridge, there were Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwits,
Redshanks, Snipe, Green Sandpipers, Lapwing and Ruff from the Zeiss Hide.Later, Curlew were
noted from the Holden Tower, making a total of 8 wader species for the day.

10th October
2013 – There were at least 203 Canada Geese and 1 Kingfisher near to
Ross-on-Wye town today.

9th October
2013 – At Nagshead on a day of dropping
temperatures, 11 Siskin flew over the Nursery Pond area giving a sign of
winter!

8th October
2013 – At WWT Slimbridge, I went to the Zeiss
Hide were there was a good selection of waders including, Spotted Redshank,
Redshank, Greenshank, Lapwing, Ruff and Black-tailed Godwit. On the South Lake
there were 2 Green Sandpipers and from the Holden Tower, Curlew and Dunlin were
on the river, the former having a white darvic leg
ring.Thus, today there were 9
species of wader on show.6 Common Crane
were also present including the unringed
juvenile.

6th October
2013 – At Nagshead today, the butterfly records
included Speckled Wood, Red Admiral and Comma.A Red Fox walked through the middle of
the short trail area while I was sat having some coffee.It ambled past me within 20metres and
didn’t appear to notice me.

5th October
2013 – I walked down the River Wye again and found a Chiffchaff in the
same spot as on October 2nd and also seen were a Kingfisher and a
Peregrine flew north.A Small
Tortoiseshell was a good October record.

3rd October
2013 – At WWT Slimbridge, there was a Wheatear
on the northern cross fence from the Holden Tower
where also there were at least 7 White-fronted Geese thus winter visitors met
summer migrants. From the Knot
Hide, there were at least 2 Chiffchaffs in the hedge and there was a little bit
of song from them.

2nd October
2013 – I walked down river on the west bank of the River Wye from
Ross-on-Wye.There was a mixed tit
flock including Long-tailed Tits and a Chiffchaff.There were a good number of Canada Geese
and Mute Swans on the river but otherwise the area was fairly quiet although a
Comma butterfly was a good October record.

1st October 2013 – A good number
of hirundines, both Swallows and Martins were
tracking purposefully south east over Longhope at
breakfast time.

Later
in the day I walked up the Gloucestershire Way at Nagshead
and found a single Fallow Deer and later 4 different animals along the short
trail in overcast conditions with a damp feel to the air but it was not
actually raining.